Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Review

I explained in the Transformers [review] why this is getting reviewed on my site, so reference back to that for furthur explaination. Let me preface this review by saying, I highly enjoy spectacles. I enjoy good summer blockbusters. I like guns, boobs, and monsters. I am even a Mchael Bay fan although I really hated the Bad Boys franchise. Given that I wasn’t that big a fan of the first film and that the critics were trashing this like mad, needless to say I went in this movie with trepidation. I can’t say I was pleasantly surprised but what I got, I enjoyed. People definitely over-reacted to this movie initially. Especially with the racism remarks, but overall, the action was top notch, and thats what I came to the theater for. The film actually starts out very strong and is extremely entertaining and it felt much like the first one. About an hour into the film there is a visually stunning battle in a forest between the Autobots and Decepticons.

Following the events of Transformers, two years have passed and the Autobots have formed an alliance with the American military in a group called Nest in order to take out the remaining Decepticon forces that are still on Earth. After dispatching the Decepticon Demolisher in a visible, damaging battle in Shanghai, Demolisher speaks of the Fallen returning to have revenge.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen makes it to the final act which is where the film becomes a complete mess. There is plenty of action here and some of it is good but then some of it is very bad. The human characters run around and yell for a little over thirty minutes dodging explosion after pointless explosion. But, I am not a snobby reviewer, I get it, its just giant robots. I am not expecting a Citizen Kane here and neither should you. The truth is, Bay is a rotten fit for this assignment; he’s much too self-important to recalibrate his approach for the younger audience this material demands. Critical consensus on Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen is overwhelmingly negative. But the critics are wrong. Michael Bay used a squillion dollars and a hundred supercomputers’ worth of CG for a brilliant art movie about the illusory nature of plot.

Performance wise, it’s fine. Fox and Labeouf ain’t winning any awards but they are convincing throughout and John Turturro’s character is great value, as well as being actually funny in parts. The soundtrack, cinematography and everything else technical is spot on. There is a much deeper history revealed about the Transformers in this flick that I thought added some much needed richness to the whole mythology of the Cybertonian race. We learn more about The Primes. We learn more about Energon and the history of the Transformers on earth as well as the grander plans. Great action. Fantastic effects. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen takes all the good things about the first Transformers movie and makes them bigger and better.

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I’m going to try and make it to see this by the end of the weekend, if not sometime this week. I love most of Bay’s work, and he is damn good at what he does. The problem I have with him is when he has a concept in front of him that does have any complexity he squashes. The Island was a good movie, but it had SO much potential to be more. The first Transformers was so consistently entertaining that I didn’t feel that way, but this being a sequel I fear I might. Still, I’m a fangirl of unapologetic escapism action, so I’ll get in line to see this one.

I can’t bring myself to watch this one. Every person I know that has seen it was literally in anger afterwards. Those same people enjoyed the first one which worries me even more.
I really want to like these movies but it never seems to work out for me. I’ll give them credit for making some great action scenes but the actors that populate the movie drive me nuts.

why in the WORLD, do people not like this movie lol.. I loved it!! (and the Bad Boys THANK YOU VERY MUCH LOL) What i have come to see is that those who didnt like it had high expectations for it. I mean c’mon!! this is a movie about robots! what more can you say. I loved the graphics, it was hilarious to me and the action was really good..i love bumble bee..I really enjoyed the first one as well. But i mean, to each his own. They expect grandiose acting abilities while already KNOWING who is goin to be in the movie! You know Fox cant act to save her life (sorry i LOVE shia)but still wanna expect that its goin to be any different this time. Great review. Very unbias!love it

Although I personally enjoyed the film for what it essentially was (explosions, sex appeal, and robots), I was a bit dismayed that the plot and character development were a bit too dry for my taste. Michael Bay does a fine job with action sequences, but I believe that he should have tried to develop more with the non-CGI aspects of the movie.

Other than that, it rocked. x) But my bottom ached for sitting so long.

I agree that the mythos they add to this film gives it needed depth. I was a little disappointed with how they handled the matrix of leadership though. When it was first mentioned I was stoked. I knew that was how they were going to bring back Optimus, and I thought it was a cool way to really bring the film back to its roots. Then they go and yank it out of his chest twenty-five seconds after his revival and use it as a power source for the sun weapon thingy. I was way disappointed in this move, just because the Matrix of Leadership BELONGS in Optimus’s chest!

On the brighter side, like I said in my commentary about this film the Autobots brought their a game in the fight scenes in this one. If not for that, I might have been hugely disappointed. As it stands I enjoyed the film, but still think it could be done better.

1. Robot everywhere. Compared to the first, the sequel starred countless robots. For you who love super robot very much (maybe me myself :p) kono eiga wa subarashii desu…(this movie is great!) Like the original Transformers maybe…

2. I noticed some asians gigs plotted here.

3. Do you all notice that there is a Naruto poster in Sam’s new dormitory?